1.2 million Britons living in Europe are in fear

The Dhaka Times Desk 1.2 million Britons living in Europe are in fear. The concern comes as Brexit comes under pressure after a European Parliament document was leaked.

According to media reports, the document states that British citizens living in different countries of the European Union will have to bear the consequences of the British government's treatment of foreign citizens after the Brexit referendum.

Citing leaked documents, the British newspaper The Guardian said in a report that the country's Prime Minister Theresa May has recently begun efforts to stop the benefits of citizens of EU countries in Britain. But he failed to take proper action regarding the British citizens in Europe. In such a situation, the future of about 1.2 million British citizens living in different countries of the European Union has become uncertain.

After 2019, the document of the European Parliament recommended to the EU member states to cancel the benefits enjoyed by British citizens living in Europe and add to the cost of living as a foreign citizen.

"If you are married to a British citizen, or born in the UK, it is difficult to get a permanent residence permit or citizenship in the UK," the document states.

The complaint against the British government is that they could not make any deal with the EU to secure the future of citizens living abroad. Again they did not make any arrangements for free living when they returned to the UK. However, the citizens of the EU countries who have to return from the UK, are being provided with free accommodation by the governments of those countries.

That is why the rate of citizenship applications from EU countries has increased by 50 percent since the June 23 Brexit referendum. 36 thousand 555 applications were submitted in the 3 months before the referendum. But in the next three months, 56 thousand 24 applications have been submitted.